Speaking exclusively with Lord Ping, Manchester United icon Dwight Yorke has told his former club to consider Zinedine Zidane if Erik Ten Hag does move on in the near future.
Yorke has also rubbished hopes of United signing Victor Osimhen this summer because the club are only making signings that can help them finish fourth in the table.
The former striker has also laughed off a £100m valuation of Alejandro Garnacho, stated that Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be ruthless in changing managers and hit out at treatment of Aaron Wan-Bissaka at Old Trafford.
Q: Aaron Wan-Bissaka was treated unprofessionally at Man Utd?
DY: “Noussair Mazraoui has come in to replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka but the way he was used at United was slightly unprofessional, he is so good defensively and wasn’t used to his strengths.
“Mazraoui will give more going forward if you want someone overlapping but the most important thing is defending and that’s what Wan-Bissaka was best at so I would’ve stuck with him.
“I just think that United might just have the edge in the race for the top four despite all the challengers, the uncertainty is that they are coming off the worst season in terms of Premier League stats in the history of the club.
“It’s going to be very hard to turn that into a team that qualifies for the Champions League.”
Q: Do you have concerns about the long-term form of Marcus Rashford?
DY: “I’m not worried after seeing Marcus Rashford in the Community Shield final, forwards will tell you that the more chances you get the more likely you are to convert them, it’s just about getting one to go in somewhere.
“It's been well documented that last season was a really poor one compared to his previous campaign. We all expected great things from Rashford but it didn’t work out that way.
“We saw how quickly things can change in football and last season was a stark wake-up call for him.
“Strikers like myself and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who will be working with Rashford this season, will know how much that season would’ve hurt him as well as missing out on the England squad and their run at Euro 2024.
“He needs to be back contributing and get back to being a star player in that team, which we all know that he's capable of doing. He needs to find that hunger.
“Missing a couple of chances in the Community Shield shouldn’t put him off. If I were Ruud I would tell him to take a breath and stay composed after getting into those positions, but keep putting yourself out there.
“Last year he wasn't even getting anywhere close to these types of chances because he was so far back and he didn't seem interested at times. So for me, what we saw at Wembley was a real positive, something that he can build on.
“Don't forget the season is over a period of nearly 11 months. So there's a lot of football to be played. A lot of chances to put things right, but that will be down to Marcus himself.
“It will be down to whether he wants to get back to that level. You can get guidance and all the knowledge and the advice there is but it ultimately comes down to you as an individual to then go out and do the work.
“At his age he doesn't need to be told the mistakes, he just needs to learn from them. In my opinion, he's still United’s biggest threat and one of their best players - now he needs to go and prove that.
“It’s all well and good me advocating for him and saying all these wonderful things about Marcus Rashford but the truth is that he didn’t produce last season and this season he simply has to.”
Q: What should Marcus Rashford’s goal target be this season?
DY: “Marcus Rashford should target a better goal tally from last season, he scored eight times so he should start the season with a target of 10 goals.
“If he gets to that, then he should go from there. My mindset would just be to get to 10 as quickly as possible. That would be an improvement, you need to walk before you run.
“You don’t want to set a long-term goal of 20 goals or it can get too much, my psychology would be to improve on last year and go from there. That is my advice to Marcus Rashford.”
Q: Is Mason Mount’s career at the very top on the line this season?
DY: “It’s a really difficult one to call with Mason Mount, he looked like a great player at Chelsea who had something about him but that has gone.
“The problem with United is that they need to get the ball to their creative players in the right areas far more often, these guys have been made to do their work too deep.
“United don’t have a set style so they are tracking back and having to make their way back forward and Mason Mount is a player who is suffering at United because of that confusion.
“There really are good players in that squad, but they're playing in a way that makes them look like they're bad players. It’s simple.”
Q: Is Alejandro Garnacho a £100 million player for Manchester United?
DY: “Alejandro Garnacho is a hugely valuable player for Manchester United but not £100m, that would be a ridiculous amount.
“He's had way more playing time I thought he might've been given at his age, I thought he would be an impact player and bring the game to life off the bench but Erik ten Hag has had his hands tied with injuries.
“Garnacho probably played more games than Ten Hag wanted so you could see him running out of steam a little bit towards the end of last season, but he would’ve learned from that and become stronger and fitter going into the new season.
“In my opinion he looks to be the real deal, he's the one player that brings that threat every time you see him on the ball. He can also play on both sides as he showed during the community shield so he is versatile too.
“One thing that I love about him is that he brings that energy and the desire to try and push defenders back towards their goal, which as an attacker you want to see all the time.
“Without a doubt, Garnacho is crucial to United's success this season.”
Q: Will Sir Jim Ratcliffe be ruthless with Erik ten Hag if things don’t go to plan?
DY: “You don’t get to be one of the wealthiest men in the UK if you aren’t ruthless and I think Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be the same at Manchester United when it comes to managers.
“He is obviously very successful and you don’t get to the top just by being nice. You have to be ruthless in business and football is now the same.
“There will be no hiding place at United for Erik ten Hag and even though he has been given a new deal, the club are expecting improved results very quickly.
“If United don’t have a good start to the season then it will send out a really negative message and the owners will feel that. If it carries on badly then Sir Jim Ratcliffe won’t hesitate to make a change.”
Q: Are there any similarities between Erik ten Hag and Sir Alex Ferguson?
DY: “I see no similarities between Erik ten Hag and Sir Alex Ferguson, Ten Hag’s personality is nowhere near Sir Alex.
“Ten Hag is under enormous amounts of pressure this season and he knows that anything he does wrong, that will be him out the door. The start of the season is so important, but in another sense he has nothing to lose as he’s got a huge new contract so he will feel like he can do things his way.
“He may as well do things his way now having come so close to being sacked, he needs to be braver and more forceful. I want to see him fighting like he did after the FA Cup, that was the best interview he has given since he joined the club.
“I want to see that attitude in his approach to games, he needs to come out fighting and show more of that. Maybe he’ll think ‘to hell with it’ and do things his own way.
“Even in press conferences he needs to be more passionate because players feed on that. United won the FA Cup when he was fighting for his job and he needs to keep that attitude.”
Q: What does Erik ten Hag need to do to convince the doubters?
DY: “To convince the doubters, Erik ten Hag needs to win his first game and go from there. That will settle everyone down and avoid uneasiness.
“If United don’t win then the uneasiness will start and heads will be shaking already, people may have given him a second chance but the doubts will return if they start the season poorly.
“Forget all the hype and just go and beat Fulham and go from there, Ten Hag can’t give anyone ammunition which will bring back all the negativity.”
Q: Is Matthijs de Ligt a signing that Sir Alex Ferguson would’ve made?
DY: “Matthijs de Ligt is a signing that Sir Alex Ferguson would’ve made. There has been a lot of hype around him in the past even though things didn’t work out at Juventus, but you can see that he just needs the right club to get the best out of him.
“It didn’t work out at Bayern Munich as well so there are some alarm bells there, especially considering that Eric Dier got in ahead of him which is quite concerning.
“But he is young and he’s replacing Raphael Varane alongside Lisandro Martinez who is very good when he is fit, I can see why United have paid the money.
“He will have to hit the ground running in the Premier League and get his confidence up, if he loses his debut he wouldn’t have experienced anything like that before, the scrutiny he could get at United.”
Q: Should Man Utd be in the market for Federico Chiesa this summer?
DY: “Manchester United shouldn’t be in the market for wingers, that is not an area in which they need to strengthen.
“United need a midfielder and maybe an established goalscorer. United are buying Dutch players, which is fine as they know that market, but some of them are not international starters which is concerning.
“What I don’t like about United is that the signings they make are players you buy if you are challenging for fourth.
“It’s like it’s been accepted that the club are only capable of finishing fourth which really bothers me. These players are not going to win them the Premier League, the club needs to get back up to that level but it looks like there is nothing following after that.
“The signings look good because everyone knows that United can only aim for fourth, we can’t get blindsided by the praise for the arrivals because that is the level they are at.
“They are good players, but only good players to get to fourth. United winning the Premier League is not even in the question anymore. It’s delusional to think that United could win the title.
“United are buying players that are good enough for fourth but not higher than that.”
Q: Should Man Utd be looking to sign Victor Osimhen?
DY: “Manchester United aren't making any effort to get Victor Osimhen because they're not interested in trying to win the title. They're trying to play for fourth.
“Signing players just to get you into the top four is crazy. I see the game a different way as a former footballer and that’s exactly what they are doing. Anything above fourth will be a miracle.
“The mindset is that fourth is the best they can achieve so are they going to go and spend £100m on a title-winning player? No chance.”
Q: Should Man Utd be looking at Osimhen over Evan Ferguson?
DY: “Going for a player like Evan Ferguson over Victor Osimhen is the level that United are at and no one is telling them the truth. No one is calling them out for what they have been doing.
“People have praised their signings, but these are signings that are good enough to challenge for fourth, not to challenge to win the Premier League.
“The idea of winning the league just doesn’t exist, it’s not even in the conversation.
“The reality of it is, behind closed doors, they have one target and that’s to get to fourth. Nothing more.”
Q: Will it be impossible for Erik ten Hag to win a Premier League title?
DY: “Erik ten Hag can one day win the league with Manchester United, but the mindset and the approach has to be totally different.
“United would be happy finishing fourth. There's a difference. Everyone in the chain at United will have the same mindset and that’s so far from where the club should be.”
Q: Does it make you sad to see Man Utd’s current situation?
DY: “Seeing where United are now makes me incredibly sad, but you get used to it. You get used to that after realising that the club are now at this level.
“Times have changed and the club no longer even think about challenging for the title. It’s hard to comprehend from the club I used to play for.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow for fans and former players but that’s the harsh reality of it.”
Q: What can Manchester United do to get back to the top?
DY: “Manchester United is an elite club, the biggest club. The biggest club in British football. You need a manager that matches the level that comes with the legacy of that.
“Until you get that someone who's genuinely a winner at all levels and takes no nonsense, until then you don’t have the right manager for the job.
“That is a manager that the fans and the players can really get behind and help take the club back to the top. Erik ten Hag is a good manager but there is a difference between being a good manager and being an elite manager. United need a manager that comes with pedigree.
“Until United get that manager in, they will struggle, there is an ideal candidate out there that can take the club forward with huge lift and match that expectation. That manager is Zinedine Zidane.
“Ten Hag hasn’t got it in his locker to attract big names, Zidane is an elite manager that can attract the biggest players in the world and get everyone back onside.
“The biggest names in world football will bend over backwards to come and play for Zidane if he's at Manchester United. At the moment United don’t have the pulling power to get in the players that will play attractive football and win major trophies again.
“United are coming off the worst season in the history of the club in terms of the Premier League era, they got knocked out of a relatively easy Champions League group and Ten Hag got a lifeline by winning the FA Cup.
“The word elite is a rare thing, Carlo Ancelotti is one of them, United need an elite manager on side to take the club forward and get that momentum back and until United do that, it’s going to be a dogfight.”
Q: Would you be interested in taking a job in the Championship with the Preston job available?
DY: “I’m keen on a managerial role in the Championship. I have a lot of respect for that league and I think what people tend to overlook, because of my success with Manchester United, is that I won the Championship as a player under Roy Keane.
“So I have experience and a little bit of knowledge about what that league is about. Of course, the little experience I have in management… British football I've known all my life.
“But there is no league in the world that I'm not looking at and it’s just a matter of whether people give you an opportunity.
“I haven’t returned to management but it's not for lack of trying. I’m looking and hoping that I get a call at some point, but we all know that when managers leave, clubs always have an idea of who is coming in to replace them so you’re always playing catch-up.
“I’m still keen, I’m not despondent. It’s about getting that job that gives you the chance to show that you are capable and the Championship is very much a place I would love to be.”
Q: What did you make of Steve McClaren getting the Jamaica job?
DY: “I wasn’t surprised to see Steve McClaren get the Jamaica job because nothing surprised me in football. He is a well established manager and coach.
“But I applied for the job and being from that region I thought it might be an opportunity to give the job to a coach like me but they went with Steve.
“Good luck to Steve. I have no animosity towards Steve at all. I wish him all the very best in the Jamaican job.”
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